Ben Rothwell apologetic, but happy, after controversial win at UFC DC: 'I was on the chopping block'

WASHINGTON – Ben Rothwell snapped his three-fight losing skid, but admitted he had to temper his celebrations after his victory over Stefan Struve came in somewhat controversial fashion.

Rothwell (37-12 MMA, 7-6 UFC) already had been warned for a low blow after he connected with a kick to Struve’s groin in the first round that forced the towering Dutchman to use all of his allotted five-minute injury timeout in order to recover. When Rothwell misplaced a second kick in the second round, Struve (29-12 MMA, 13-10 UFC) went down again in clear agony. After advice from his corner – and, controversially, from referee Dan Miragliotta – Struve opted to continue the fight and Rothwell finished his man with three seconds remaining in the round.

It was a much-needed win for the native of Kenosha, Wis., but he said he knew he had to pull back on his planned celebrations after the nature of his victory.

“I had a cool speech and everything ready, but not with an asterisk,” he said backstage at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. “I knew that was going to be the biggest discussion point. I just tried to handle it the best I could – give respect and just address the crowd. You can’t be too happy because the crowd will turn on you if they feel like you got one over on them or something.”

Looking back at the incident, Rothwell said he had little issue with the point deduction he received from Miragliotta after the second errant kick. But he did admit learning of the official’s mid-fight advice to Struve was “unfortunate.”

“He was repeating what his cornermen were telling him,” he said. “I was down because I knew they were taking a point, and I’m like, ‘They might stop the fight.’ But I looked at his cornermen and his cornermen were like, ‘You’ve got the fight. Coast to a win. You’ve got this.’ So I was pretty sure he was going to keep fighting.

“Everything was against me. I had to get a finish, because I was going to lose another decision. (But) I was pretty confident that he was going to fight (on). That’s unfortunate to hear the ref had said that, because he’s basically repeating what his cornermen are telling him.”

The victory, Rothwell’s first since January 2016, wasn’t just welcome for the veteran heavyweight. It was absolutely necessary. After a trio of unanimous decision losses to Junior Dos Santos, Blagoy Ivanov and Andrei Arlovski in his past three outings, the Wisconsin man admitted his UFC future was at stake when he stepped into the octagon in D.C.

“I think I was on the chopping block – let’s be honest,” he said. “I’ve lost three decisions prior to this, which I think helps – I don’t get finished. I fight to the end. But four losses is four losses. It can’t happen. So this was crucial.”

But with his skid now in the rearview mirror, Rothwell says he would love an early 2020 return as he looks to rediscover the form that made him one of the most dangerous contenders in the heavyweight division.

“February, March would be cool, (but) I’d really like to fight on that April card (in Brooklyn, N.Y.) – Tony Ferguson and Khabib (Nurmagomedov),” he said. “That would be a great card to fight on. I like fighting on the East Coast … I’m not exactly positive, but I think I’m 19-1 fighting on the East Coast. So I’m pretty tough out here.”

And while he said he is apologetic toward Struve for the circumstances surrounding his victory, Rothwell said he just wants to move on and focus on a successful year in 2020.

“I tried to be as apologetic as I could – apologized to Stefan Struve for being a man. You know?” Rothwell said. “You’ve gotta move on. I got myself in a really good position to have a really big 2020 with all my coaching staff and the conditioning I’m in, and I just want to look better in my next fight. I want to be noticeably better in my next time around. Then I know I did a good job.”